


Like Real People Do

by Reddietolive



Category: IT(2017) IT Stephen King
Genre: Angst, Arsonist!Richie, Eddie’s afraid of diseases and sex, Facing Fears, Fluff, M/M, Reddie, There’s a lot of death, Thief!Eddie, dystopian au, uhhhhh what else can I tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-24
Updated: 2018-06-24
Packaged: 2019-05-27 19:26:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15031601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reddietolive/pseuds/Reddietolive
Summary: Eddie Kaspbrak is a thief. He was forced to do this by his mother, controlling him at every turn. He didn’t even get to eat what he stole. So one day when he gets caught once again due to his mother’s gluttony, he is more angry than terrified even though he knows what is coming. The game. The game is a way to cut down on prisons. Seven people begin at once. You make it out alive, you go home. Or you die. The games plays off of your fears, and for Eddie Kaspbrak the reality becomes even more terrifying when he meets Richie Tozier while he is playing. Richie Tozier immediately wants to be his friend, and Eddie is just glad that he doesn’t seem to have the same fears as he does, but they vow to protect each other and make it out alive.





	1. Sedated

**Author's Note:**

> THE GAME WILL BEGIN IN THREE...TWO...ONE  
> Face your fears, or die by their hand.

Eddie walked through the streets, brown eyes scanning every booth and person that he could see. He took a deep breath. This was going to be a lot more reckless than most of the things he did, and that was really saying something considering what he did to survive.

Eddie Kaspbrak was a thief. Technically, it wasn’t his choice. It was forced upon him, much like greatness is forced upon commoners in stories. Unfortunately for Eddie, the only ‘great’ thing that he managed to do was stay alive, and that was still kind of pathetic.

But today? Today was going to be a good day. Today, Eddie would taste something that he hasn’t had in years. Sweets.   
He walked by the small cart several times, going over his plan over and over. He was feeling oddly confident though. Maybe he could catch a break. Maybe luck was on his side today. 

He had been stealing for five years, ever since he was sixteen. Ever since ration laws got stricter and some people were left with little to nothing to eat. At first, he thought he was just getting a little extra, a back up plan, but no. It was all for her, and Eddie was practically left to starve. 

But now, he knew enough to eat his portion, the little that he could, before he walked into the building they called their house. Today however, was completely his. Or at least the candies would be. 

Eddie watched the cart with a grin, and looked to one of the many clocks posted around the city to remind people just how much time they would have until curfew was enacted. That way ‘I forgot’ wouldn’t be a good enough excuse. Just a little over a minute, and he could be enjoying something that a privileged few could, for free.   
-  
The sad thing was, he didn’t get caught because he stole candy. No, he got away with that. He got away with stealing apples, and he got away with stealing potatoes. So, what was his downfall? A roll. One, small roll. And who caught him? A child. A child screaming, ‘THIEF!’ at the top of their lungs.

That’s when they found the candy, and the apples, and the potatoes. And that’s why he was in this situation right now. 

Eddie ran his fingers through his his dirty hair. He would have given anything to be able to take a proper bath, at least weekly, but that was another thing that his mother had taken from him in her efforts to make him feel less human. She’d be pleased to know that it worked. 

The transport that Eddie was locked inside shook with every bump that it hit, and unfortunately for Eddie, it hit many bumps, the roads here weren’t exactly the best. He felt pathetic, but it’s not like he was going into this blind. He knew what would happen. He almost wished that he didn’t.

He was a criminal, and he’d be going somewhere a lot worse than jail. Worse than the electric chair, and worse than getting the lethal injection. It would be Eddie’s turn to play The Game. 

The Game was what replaced the overflowing prisons of the country. The rules were simple. Face your fears. Survive. Eddie could do that. The only problem was, he didn’t have much to live for. His house wasn’t a home, he had no real family that he cared about, no friends, but Eddie did have something. 

Hatred. He would live to spite the system, that caused his existence to be so miserable, to spite his mother, who was the one who forced him to live like this despite the dangers, to spite everyone who thought he was small and weak. He would survive long enough to laugh at them. And that was all he needed.   
-  
How Eddie managed to fall asleep in the shaking transport as it drove to Roria, the capitol city, was beyond him. He only knew that he was being shook awake by another faceless officer, and roughly yanked out of the transport. 

Handcuffs locked onto his bony wrists, and a gun was shoved against his back, as the officer forced him forward. He would be cleaned, dressed up like a doll, and shown to an audience full of people who make bets on his life. Fun.   
-  
When Eddie had wished for a bath, he definitely didn’t wish to be scrubbed raw by people that he didn’t know. It was a horrible feeling, being so exposed, especially considering that they would shamelessly comment on his body in front of him. 

“What’s he in here for again?” asked the boy with the eyebrow piercing.

“Stealing. He’s a thief, not a prostitute, Adrian,” a girl with bright green lipstick laughed as she washed his hair. 

If Eddie was honest, this itself was completely horrifying, and if this scared him, he didn’t even want to know what waited for him in The Game, though in all technicality, he already knew. 

After being scrubbed to the point where he was surprised that he wasn’t bleeding, they dressed him. That was a little better than the mortifying bath, especially since he was slowly covering himself up more and more. 

The outfit was simple. Form fitting black pants that weren’t made of the rough denim that he was used to. Instead, the material was stretchy and soft at the same time. Maybe, if he lived, he could keep them. The shirt was made of a similar material, but that wasn’t what caught his eye. 

It was the shoes. Boots, specifically boots that were lightweight, meant for running. Now that was something that Eddie was good at. He ran from everything. He ran when the letter telling him about his father’s gruesome demise that still broke him even though he was assured that ‘he died for his country’ arrived, so no one would see him cry, he ran through the market, snatching food to stop his mother from making him homeless, which was also a crime that you could be thrown into The Game for, and now, he’d run from his fears and hope that he survived.


	2. In The Woods Somewhere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie meets a possible ally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, I’ve just been working on a lot of different things.

Eddie didn’t exactly expect to be treated with care while he waited for his game to start, but he also didn’t expect this.

People jeered and laughed at him, and he was led into a room full of nothing but inky darkness.

‘He won’t last a day in there’

‘He’s like a fucking doll. Fragile’

Now, Eddie had heard things like this all throughout his life. They weren’t new or different at all, but they only fueled his fire this time. 

Honestly? He was tired of being delicate.

Something else that he didn’t expect was for a girl who couldn’t have been any older than he was to enter the room.

“The Game will begin soon. Edward Kaspbrak. Afraid or disease, sex, sexuality,” she recited in a monotone voice that let him know that she wasn’t a girl at all, but an Android.

Well, that and the fact that the second that she touched his neck, a needle was imbedded in it, and his world turned black.

-

Eddie also didn’t expect to wake up in a house. Not just any house, but his house, complete with the false bottom drawer that he had built years ago. Now, maybe The Game was trying to lull him into a false sense of security, but the scenery just made him feel uneasy, like he had walked into a haunted house. 

He had to get out of there. Maybe find some other place to sleep when nightfall came. But he would avoid this hell hole for as long as he could.

The first thing that Eddie noticed when he stepped outside was that the air was cold and crisp. It felt like it was autumn outside, even though it should be mid spring. 

It was odd to say the least, but it was probably supposed to be that way. Just another example of how disconnected from the world he was now.

The only thing that Eddie could really do now, is walk. And that’s what he did. He walked, lost in thought, until he almost ran into a tree. But that wasn’t the most shocking thing that happened. The laughter that followed was. Well, the girl who caused the laugher.

She stepped into his field of vision, and Eddie took a step back. She looked to be around his age, with messily cut red hair, and pale, freckled skin. But more importantly, despite the fact that she laughed, her eyes were full of fear, though his probably were too.

“Who are you?” he asked, trying to keep his voice from shaking. He had heard about other contestants killing each other, and didn’t want to risk that.

The girl gave him a small smile, “Beverly Marsh. What about you, shorty?”

“Eddie. Eddie Kaspbrak,” he answered, still trying to keep his distance from the girl.

“Well, shorty-“

“Eddie,” he corrected, already feeling a little exasperated.

“Eddie. Would you like to try to not die together?” 

Honestly? It was a good idea. They could team up, and then face their fears together. The only problem was that Eddie didn’t know if he could trust this girl-Beverly.

“What are you afraid of?” It was a simple enough question, but if she trusted him enough to tell him, then maybe she was trust worthy.

Beverly was silent for a few seconds before answering, “blood.”

Eddie could tell from the way she bit her lip that it wasn’t the truth, or at least it wasn’t the full truth, but it was part of it.

“What about you?” she asked.

“Germophobia,” Eddie answered quickly. It was also a half truth, he was in fact a germophobe, but that wasn’t his only fear.

“So sh-I mean Eddie,” Beverly quickly corrected, “what say you? Allies” she asked with a small smile.

Eddie sighed, maybe this would make things a little easier, and it had been a while since he had a proper friend (not that Beverly would be a proper friend, just a ‘let’s attempt to survive together’ buddy).

“I guess so,” he said quietly as he looked up at her.

Beverly grinned, “I knew you’d agree, shorty. Now c’mon, the first thing on our agenda is find some food.”

Eddie had to agree, he was starving, though he usually was, “Don’t call me that,” he told her, snappily.

“Sorry, sorry. I’ll try not to call you shorty.”

Eddie already regretted being her ‘let’s attempt to survive together’ buddy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout at me on Tumblr at Reddiefordeath

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my Tumblr @Reddiefordeath


End file.
